Circuit for correcting lateral chromatic abberation

ABSTRACT

Embodiments relate to lateral chromatic aberration (LCA) recovery of raw image data generated by image sensors. A chromatic aberration recovery circuit performs chromatic aberration recovery on the raw image data to correct the resulting LCA in the full color images using pre-calculated offset values of a subset of colors of pixels.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/848,131 filed on Apr. 14, 2020, which is incorporated by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a circuit for processing images andmore specifically to a circuit for performing chromatic aberrationrecovery on images.

2. Description of the Related Arts

Image data captured by an image sensor or received from other datasources is often processed in an image processing pipeline beforefurther processing or consumption. For example, raw image data may becorrected, filtered, or otherwise modified before being provided tosubsequent components such as a video encoder. To perform corrections orenhancements for captured image data, various components, unit stages ormodules may be employed.

Such an image processing pipeline may be structured so that correctionsor enhancements to the captured image data can be performed in anexpedient way without consuming other system resources. Although manyimage processing algorithms may be performed by executing softwareprograms on central processing unit (CPU), execution of such programs onthe CPU would consume significant bandwidth of the CPU and otherperipheral resources as well as increase power consumption. Hence, imageprocessing pipelines are often implemented as a hardware componentseparate from the CPU and dedicated to performing one or more imageprocessing algorithms.

However, image processing pipelines do not account for the use of awide-angle lens (e.g., a fisheye lens) to generate the image data. Whena wide-angle lens is used to generate the image data, the refractionangle of light with different wavelength varies thereby manifestingitself on the image sensor as shifted focal points that are not alignedamong red, green, and blue color channels. Thus, color fringing ispresent at sharp and high contrast edges of full-color images generatedfrom the image data.

SUMMARY

Embodiments relate to of the present disclosure relate to a circuit forcorrecting lateral chromatic aberration (LCA) generated by imagesensors. In one embodiment, an image processor circuit receives pixelvalues of pixels of a color in raw input image data. The color may bered or blue, but not green. The image processor circuit generates afirst corrected version of the pixel values. The image processor circuitgenerates the first correction version of the pixel values by performinginterpolation of pixel values of a first subset of pixels of the colorarranged in a first direction of the raw image input data. Theinterpolation may be performed using one or more of first interpolationcoefficients that correspond to first offset values representing firstdistances from the pixels to corresponding virtual pixels in the firstdirection where the virtual pixels have pixel values that are identicalto pixel values of the pixels in the raw image absent lateral chromaticaberrations.

The image processor circuit generates second corrected versions of thepixel values by performing interpolation of the first corrected versionsof the pixel values of second subset of pixels of the color arranged ina second direction perpendicular where the second direction is thehorizontal direction. The interpolation may be performed using one ormore of second interpolation coefficients that correspond to secondoffset values that represent second distances from the pixels in the rawimage input data to the corresponding virtual pixels in the seconddirection. The second corrected versions of the pixel values are part ofa corrected raw image data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a high-level diagram of an electronic device, according to oneembodiment

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components in the electronicdevice, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating image processing pipelinesimplemented using an image signal processor, according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are conceptual diagrams illustrating longitudinal/axialchromatic aberration and lateral/transverse chromatic aberration,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating raw image data generated byan image sensor using a wide-angle lens, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed view of a chromaticaberration recovery (CAR) circuit, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are conceptual diagrams illustrating verticalinterpolation and horizontal interpolation of the raw image data,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating pixel neighbors of a given pixel,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of performing chromaticaberration recovery to reduce color fringing of raw image data,according to one embodiment.

The figures depict, and the detail description describes, variousnon-limiting embodiments for purposes of illustration only.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detaileddescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the various described embodiments. However,the described embodiments may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components,circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not tounnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to lateral chromaticaberration (LCA) recovery of raw image data generated by image sensors.In one embodiment, raw image data may be in a Bayer color filter array(CFA) pattern (hereinafter also referred to as a “Bayer pattern”). Afull-color image created from a Bayer pattern that is generated by animage sensor using a wide-angle lens typically has LCA and axialchromatic aberration (ACA). For a wide-angle lens, the refraction anglefor light with different wavelengths varies and manifests itself onimage sensors as shifted focal points that are misaligned among red,green, and blue color channels and results in color fringing at sharpand high contrast edges in the full color image. A chromatic aberrationrecovery circuit performs chromatic aberration recovery on raw imagedata captured with the wide-angle lens to correct the resulting LCA inthe full color images.

Exemplary Electronic Device

Embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, andassociated processes for using such devices are described. In someembodiments, the device is a portable communications device, such as amobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as personaldigital assistant (PDA) and/or music player functions. Exemplaryembodiments of portable multifunction devices include, withoutlimitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, Apple Watch®, and iPad® devicesfrom Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable electronic devices,such as wearables, laptops or tablet computers, are optionally used. Insome embodiments, the device is not a portable communications device,but is a desktop computer or other computing device that is not designedfor portable use. In some embodiments, the disclosed electronic devicemay include a touch sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screen displayand/or a touch pad). An example electronic device described below inconjunction with FIG. 1 (e.g., device 100) may include a touch-sensitivesurface for receiving user input. The electronic device may also includeone or more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physicalkeyboard, a mouse and/or a joystick.

FIG. 1 is a high-level diagram of an electronic device 100, according toone embodiment. Device 100 may include one or more physical buttons,such as a “home” or menu button 104. Menu button 104 is, for example,used to navigate to any application in a set of applications that areexecuted on device 100. In some embodiments, menu button 104 includes afingerprint sensor that identifies a fingerprint on menu button 104. Thefingerprint sensor may be used to determine whether a finger on menubutton 104 has a fingerprint that matches a fingerprint stored forunlocking device 100. Alternatively, in some embodiments, menu button104 is implemented as a soft key in a graphical user interface (GUI)displayed on a touch screen.

In some embodiments, device 100 includes touch screen 150, menu button104, push button 106 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment buttons 108, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)card slot 110, head set jack 112, and docking/charging external port124. Push button 106 may be used to turn the power on/off on the deviceby depressing the button and holding the button in the depressed statefor a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressing thebutton and releasing the button before the predefined time interval haselapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process. Inan alternative embodiment, device 100 also accepts verbal input foractivation or deactivation of some functions through microphone 113. Thedevice 100 includes various components including, but not limited to, amemory (which may include one or more computer readable storagemediums), a memory controller, one or more central processing units(CPUs), a peripherals interface, an RF circuitry, an audio circuitry,speaker 111, microphone 113, input/output (I/O) subsystem, and otherinput or control devices. Device 100 may include one or more imagesensors 164, one or more proximity sensors 166, and one or moreaccelerometers 168. Device 100 may include more than one type of imagesensors 164. Each type may include more than one image sensor 164. Forexample, one type of image sensors 164 may be cameras and another typeof image sensors 164 may be infrared sensors that may be used for facerecognition. Additionally or alternatively, the image sensors 164 may beassociated with different lens configuration. For example, device 100may include rear image sensors, one with a wide-angle lens and anotherwith as a telephoto lens. The device 100 may include components notshown in FIG. 1 such as an ambient light sensor, a dot projector and aflood illuminator.

Device 100 is only one example of an electronic device, and device 100may have more or fewer components than listed above, some of which maybe combined into a component or have a different configuration orarrangement. The various components of device 100 listed above areembodied in hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof,including one or more signal processing and/or application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs). While the components in FIG. 1 are shown asgenerally located on the same side as the touch screen 150, one or morecomponents may also be located on an opposite side of device 100. Forexample, the front side of device 100 may include an infrared imagesensor 164 for face recognition and another image sensor 164 as thefront camera of device 100. The back side of device 100 may also includeadditional two image sensors 164 as the rear cameras of device 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components in device 100,according to one embodiment. Device 100 may perform various operationsincluding image processing. For this and other purposes, the device 100may include, among other components, image sensor 202, system-on-a chip(SOC) component 204, system memory 230, persistent storage (e.g., flashmemory) 228, orientation sensor 234, and display 216. The components asillustrated in FIG. 2 are merely illustrative. For example, device 100may include other components (such as speaker or microphone) that arenot illustrated in FIG. 2. Further, some components (such as orientationsensor 234) may be omitted from device 100.

Image sensors 202 are components for capturing image data. Each of theimage sensors 202 may be embodied, for example, as a complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) active-pixel sensor, a camera, videocamera, or other devices. Image sensors 202 generate raw image data thatis sent to SOC component 204 for further processing. In someembodiments, the image data processed by SOC component 204 is displayedon display 216, stored in system memory 230, persistent storage 228 orsent to a remote computing device via network connection. The raw imagedata generated by image sensors 202 may be in a Bayer color filter array(CFA) pattern (hereinafter also referred to as “Bayer pattern”). Animage sensor 202 may also include optical and mechanical components thatassist image sensing components (e.g., pixels) to capture images. Theoptical and mechanical components may include an aperture, a lenssystem, and an actuator that controls the focal length of the imagesensor 202.

Motion sensor 234 is a component or a set of components for sensingmotion of device 100. Motion sensor 234 may generate sensor signalsindicative of orientation and/or acceleration of device 100. The sensorsignals are sent to SOC component 204 for various operations such asturning on device 100 or rotating images displayed on display 216.

Display 216 is a component for displaying images as generated by SOCcomponent 204. Display 216 may include, for example, liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) device or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) device.Based on data received from SOC component 204, display 116 may displayvarious images, such as menus, selected operating parameters, imagescaptured by image sensor 202 and processed by SOC component 204, and/orother information received from a user interface of device 100 (notshown).

System memory 230 is a component for storing instructions for executionby SOC component 204 and for storing data processed by SOC component204. System memory 230 may be embodied as any type of memory including,for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM(SDRAM), double data rate (DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc.) RAMBUS DRAM (RDRAM),static RAM (SRAM) or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, systemmemory 230 may store pixel data or other image data or statistics invarious formats.

Persistent storage 228 is a component for storing data in a non-volatilemanner. Persistent storage 228 retains data even when power is notavailable. Persistent storage 228 may be embodied as read-only memory(ROM), flash memory or other non-volatile random access memory devices.

SOC component 204 is embodied as one or more integrated circuit (IC)chip and performs various data processing processes. SOC component 204may include, among other subcomponents, image signal processor (ISP)206, a central processor unit (CPU) 208, a network interface 210, motionsensor interface 212, display controller 214, graphics processor (GPU)220, memory controller 222, video encoder 224, storage controller 226,and various other input/output (I/O) interfaces 218, and bus 232connecting these subcomponents. SOC component 204 may include more orfewer subcomponents than those shown in FIG. 2.

ISP 206 is hardware that performs various stages of an image processingpipeline. In some embodiments, ISP 206 may receive raw image data fromimage sensor 202, and process the raw image data into a form that isusable by other subcomponents of SOC component 204 or components ofdevice 100. ISP 206 may perform various image-manipulation operationssuch as image translation operations, horizontal and vertical scaling,color space conversion and/or image stabilization transformations, asdescribed below in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

CPU 208 may be embodied using any suitable instruction set architecture,and may be configured to execute instructions defined in thatinstruction set architecture. CPU 208 may be general-purpose or embeddedprocessors using any of a variety of instruction set architectures(ISAs), such as the x86, PowerPC, SPARC, RISC, ARM or MIPS ISAs, or anyother suitable ISA. Although a single CPU is illustrated in FIG. 2, SOCcomponent 204 may include multiple CPUs. In multiprocessor systems, eachof the CPUs may commonly, but not necessarily, implement the same ISA.

Graphics processing unit (GPU) 220 is graphics processing circuitry forperforming operations on graphical data. For example, GPU 220 may renderobjects to be displayed into a frame buffer (e.g., one that includespixel data for an entire frame). GPU 220 may include one or moregraphics processors that may execute graphics software to perform a partor all of the graphics operation, or hardware acceleration of certaingraphics operations.

I/O interfaces 218 are hardware, software, firmware or combinationsthereof for interfacing with various input/output components in device100. I/O components may include devices such as keypads, buttons, audiodevices, and sensors such as a global positioning system. I/O interfaces218 process data for sending data to such I/O components or process datareceived from such I/O components.

Network interface 210 is a subcomponent that enables data to beexchanged between devices 100 and other devices via one or more networks(e.g., carrier or agent devices). For example, video or other image datamay be received from other devices via network interface 210 and bestored in system memory 230 for subsequent processing (e.g., via aback-end interface to image signal processor 206, such as discussedbelow in FIG. 3) and display. The networks may include, but are notlimited to, Local Area Networks (LANs) (e.g., an Ethernet or corporatenetwork) and Wide Area Networks (WANs). The image data received vianetwork interface 210 may undergo image processing processes by ISP 206.

Motion sensor interface 212 is circuitry for interfacing with motionsensor 234. Motion sensor interface 212 receives sensor information frommotion sensor 234 and processes the sensor information to determine theorientation or movement of the device 100.

Display controller 214 is circuitry for sending image data to bedisplayed on display 216. Display controller 214 receives the image datafrom ISP 206, CPU 208, graphic processor or system memory 230 andprocesses the image data into a format suitable for display on display216.

Memory controller 222 is circuitry for communicating with system memory230. Memory controller 222 may read data from system memory 230 forprocessing by ISP 206, CPU 208, GPU 220 or other subcomponents of SOCcomponent 204. Memory controller 222 may also write data to systemmemory 230 received from various subcomponents of SOC component 204.

Video encoder 224 is hardware, software, firmware or a combinationthereof for encoding video data into a format suitable for storing inpersistent storage 128 or for passing the data to network interface w10for transmission over a network to another device.

In some embodiments, one or more subcomponents of SOC component 204 orsome functionality of these subcomponents may be performed by softwarecomponents executed on ISP 206, CPU 208 or GPU 220. Such softwarecomponents may be stored in system memory 230, persistent storage 228 oranother device communicating with device 100 via network interface 210.

Image data or video data may flow through various data paths within SOCcomponent 204. In one example, raw image data may be generated from theimage sensors 202 and processed by ISP 206, and then sent to systemmemory 230 via bus 232 and memory controller 222. After the image datais stored in system memory 230, it may be accessed by video encoder 224for encoding or by display 116 for displaying via bus 232.

In another example, image data is received from sources other than theimage sensors 202. For example, video data may be streamed, downloaded,or otherwise communicated to the SOC component 204 via wired or wirelessnetwork. The image data may be received via network interface 210 andwritten to system memory 230 via memory controller 222. The image datamay then be obtained by ISP 206 from system memory 230 and processedthrough one or more image processing pipeline stages, as described belowin detail with reference to FIG. 3. The image data may then be returnedto system memory 230 or be sent to video encoder 224, display controller214 (for display on display 216), or storage controller 226 for storageat persistent storage 228.

Example Image Signal Processing Pipelines

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating image processing pipelinesimplemented using ISP 206, according to one embodiment. In theembodiment of FIG. 3, ISP 206 is coupled to an image sensor system 201that includes one or more image sensors 202A through 202N (hereinaftercollectively referred to as “image sensors 202” or also referredindividually as “image sensor 202”) to receive raw image data. The imagesensor system 201 may include one or more sub-systems that control theimage sensors 202 individually. In some cases, each image sensor 202 mayoperate independently while, in other cases, the image sensors 202 mayshare some components. For example, in one embodiment, two or more imagesensors 202 may be share the same circuit board that controls themechanical components of the image sensors (e.g., actuators that changethe focal lengths of each image sensor). The image sensing components ofan image sensor 202 may include different types of image sensingcomponents that may provide raw image data in different forms to the ISP206. For example, in one embodiment, the image sensing components mayinclude a plurality of focus pixels that are used for auto-focusing anda plurality of image pixels that are used for capturing images. Inanother embodiment, the image sensing pixels may be used for bothauto-focusing and image capturing purposes.

ISP 206 implements an image processing pipeline which may include a setof stages that process image information from creation, capture orreceipt to output. ISP 206 may include, among other components, sensorinterface 302, central control 320, front-end pipeline stages 330,back-end pipeline stages 340, image statistics module 304, vision module322, back-end interface 342, output interface 316, and auto-focuscircuits 350A through 350N (hereinafter collectively referred to as“auto-focus circuits 350” or referred individually as “auto-focuscircuits 350”). ISP 206 may include other components not illustrated inFIG. 3 or may omit one or more components illustrated in FIG. 3.

In one or more embodiments, different components of ISP 206 processimage data at different rates. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, front-endpipeline stages 330 (e.g., raw processing stage 306 and resampleprocessing stage 308) may process image data at an initial rate. Thus,the various different techniques, adjustments, modifications, or otherprocessing operations performed by these front-end pipeline stages 330at the initial rate. For example, if the front-end pipeline stages 330process 2 pixels per clock cycle, then raw processing stage 306operations (e.g., black level compensation, highlight recovery anddefective pixel correction) may process 2 pixels of image data at atime. In contrast, one or more back-end pipeline stages 340 may processimage data at a different rate less than the initial data rate. Forexample, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, back-end pipeline stages 340(e.g., noise processing stage 310, color processing stage 312, andoutput rescale 314) may be processed at a reduced rate (e.g., 1 pixelper clock cycle).

Raw image data captured by image sensors 202 may be transmitted todifferent components of ISP 206 in different manners. In one embodiment,raw image data corresponding to the focus pixels may be sent to theauto-focus circuits 350 while raw image data corresponding to the imagepixels may be sent to the sensor interface 302. In another embodiment,raw image data corresponding to both types of pixels may simultaneouslybe sent to both the auto-focus circuits 350 and the sensor interface302.

Auto-focus circuits 350 may include hardware circuit that analyzes rawimage data to determine an appropriate focal length of each image sensor202. In one embodiment, the raw image data may include data that istransmitted from image sensing pixels that specializes in imagefocusing. In another embodiment, raw image data from image capturepixels may also be used for auto-focusing purpose. An auto-focus circuit350 may perform various image processing operations to generate datathat determines the appropriate focal length. The image processingoperations may include cropping, binning, image compensation, scaling togenerate data that is used for auto-focusing purpose. The auto-focusingdata generated by auto-focus circuits 350 may be fed back to the imagesensor system 201 to control the focal lengths of the image sensors 202.For example, an image sensor 202 may include a control circuit thatanalyzes the auto-focusing data to determine a command signal that issent to an actuator associated with the lens system of the image sensorto change the focal length of the image sensor. The data generated bythe auto-focus circuits 350 may also be sent to other components of theISP 206 for other image processing purposes. For example, some of thedata may be sent to image statistics 304 to determine informationregarding auto-exposure.

The auto-focus circuits 350 may be individual circuits that are separatefrom other components such as image statistics 304, sensor interface302, front-end 330 and back-end 340. This allows the ISP 206 to performauto-focusing analysis independent of other image processing pipelines.For example, the ISP 206 may analyze raw image data from the imagesensor 202A to adjust the focal length of image sensor 202A using theauto-focus circuit 350A while performing downstream image processing ofthe image data from image sensor 202B simultaneously. In one embodiment,the number of auto-focus circuits 350 may correspond to the number ofimage sensors 202. In other words, each image sensor 202 may have acorresponding auto-focus circuit that is dedicated to the auto-focusingof the image sensor 202. The device 100 may perform auto focusing fordifferent image sensors 202 even if one or more image sensors 202 arenot in active use. This allows a seamless transition between two imagesensors 202 when the device 100 switches from one image sensor 202 toanother. For example, in one embodiment, a device 100 may include awide-angle camera and a telephoto camera as a dual back camera systemfor photo and image processing. The device 100 may display imagescaptured by one of the dual cameras and may switch between the twocameras from time to time. The displayed images may seamless transitionfrom image data captured by one image sensor 202 to image data capturedby another image sensor without waiting for the second image sensor 202to adjust its focal length because two or more auto-focus circuits 350may continuously provide auto-focus data to the image sensor system 201.

Raw image data captured by different image sensors 202 may also betransmitted to sensor interface 302. Sensor interface 302 receives rawimage data from image sensor 202 and processes the raw image data intoan image data processable by other stages in the pipeline. Sensorinterface 302 may perform various preprocessing operations, such asimage cropping, binning or scaling to reduce image data size. In someembodiments, pixels are sent from the image sensor 202 to sensorinterface 302 in raster order (e.g., horizontally, line by line). Thesubsequent processes in the pipeline may also be performed in rasterorder and the result may also be output in raster order. Although only asingle image sensor and a single sensor interface 302 are illustrated inFIG. 3, when more than one image sensor is provided in device 100, acorresponding number of sensor interfaces may be provided in ISP 206 toprocess raw image data from each image sensor.

Front-end pipeline stages 330 process image data in raw or full-colordomains. Front-end pipeline stages 330 may include, but are not limitedto, raw processing stage 306 and resample processing stage 308. A rawimage data may be in Bayer raw format, for example. In Bayer raw imageformat, pixel data with values specific to a particular color (insteadof all colors) is provided in each pixel. In an image capturing sensor,image data is typically provided in a Bayer pattern. Raw processingstage 306 may process image data in a Bayer raw format.

The operations performed by raw processing stage 306 include, but arenot limited, sensor linearization, black level compensation, fixedpattern noise reduction, defective pixel correction, raw noisefiltering, lens shading correction, white balance gain, highlightrecovery, and chromatic aberration recovery. Sensor linearization refersto mapping non-linear image data to linear space for other processing.Black level compensation refers to providing digital gain, offset andclip independently for each color component (e.g., Gr, R, B, Gb) of theimage data. Fixed pattern noise reduction refers to removing offsetfixed pattern noise and gain fixed pattern noise by subtracting a darkframe from an input image and multiplying different gains to pixels.Defective pixel correction refers to detecting defective pixels, andthen replacing defective pixel values. Raw noise filtering refers toreducing noise of image data by averaging neighbor pixels that aresimilar in brightness. Highlight recovery refers to estimating pixelvalues for those pixels that are clipped (or nearly clipped) from otherchannels. Lens shading correction refers to applying a gain per pixel tocompensate for a dropoff in intensity roughly proportional to a distancefrom a lens optical center. White balance gain refers to providingdigital gains for white balance, offset and clip independently for allcolor components (e.g., Gr, R, B, Gb in Bayer format). Chromaticaberration recovery is performed by chromatic aberration recoverycircuit (CAR) 307 and refers to correcting chromatic aberrations in rawimage data images resulting from the use of a wide-angle lens togenerate the images. Components of ISP 206 may convert raw image datainto image data in full-color domain, and thus, raw processing stage 306may process image data in the full-color domain in addition to orinstead of raw image data.

Resample processing stage 308 performs various operations to convert,resample, or scale image data received from raw processing stage 306.Operations performed by resample processing stage 308 may include, butnot limited to, demosaic operation, per-pixel color correctionoperation, Gamma mapping operation, color space conversion anddownscaling or sub-band splitting. Demosaic operation refers toconverting or interpolating missing color samples from raw image data(for example, in a Bayer pattern) to output image data into a full-colordomain. Demosaic operation may include low pass directional filtering onthe interpolated samples to obtain full-color pixels. Per-pixel colorcorrection operation refers to a process of performing color correctionon a per-pixel basis using information about relative noise standarddeviations of each color channel to correct color without amplifyingnoise in the image data. Gamma mapping refers to converting image datafrom input image data values to output data values to perform gammacorrection. For the purpose of Gamma mapping, lookup tables (or otherstructures that index pixel values to another value) for different colorcomponents or channels of each pixel (e.g., a separate lookup table forR, G, and B color components) may be used. Color space conversion refersto converting color space of an input image data into a differentformat. In one embodiment, the resample processing stage 308 convertsRGG format into YCbCr format for further processing. In anotherembodiment, the resample processing state 308 concerts RBD format intoRGB format for further processing.

Central control module 320 may control and coordinate overall operationof other components in ISP 206. Central control module 320 performsoperations including, but not limited to, monitoring various operatingparameters (e.g., logging clock cycles, memory latency, quality ofservice, and state information), updating or managing control parametersfor other components of ISP 206, and interfacing with sensor interface302 to control the starting and stopping of other components of ISP 206.For example, central control module 320 may update programmableparameters for other components in ISP 206 while the other componentsare in an idle state. After updating the programmable parameters,central control module 320 may place these components of ISP 206 into arun state to perform one or more operations or tasks. Central controlmodule 320 may also instruct other components of ISP 206 to store imagedata (e.g., by writing to system memory 230 in FIG. 2) before, during,or after resample processing stage 308. In this way full-resolutionimage data in raw or full-color domain format may be stored in additionto or instead of processing the image data output from resampleprocessing stage 308 through backend pipeline stages 340.

Image statistics module 304 performs various operations to collectstatistic information associated with the image data. The operations forcollecting statistics information may include, but not limited to,sensor linearization, replace patterned defective pixels, sub-sample rawimage data, detect and replace non-patterned defective pixels, blacklevel compensation, lens shading correction, and inverse black levelcompensation. After performing one or more of such operations,statistics information such as 3A statistics (Auto white balance (AWB),auto exposure (AE), histograms (e.g., 2D color or component) and anyother image data information may be collected or tracked. In someembodiments, certain pixels' values, or areas of pixel values may beexcluded from collections of certain statistics data when precedingoperations identify clipped pixels. Although only a single statisticsmodule 304 is illustrated in FIG. 3, multiple image statistics modulesmay be included in ISP 206. For example, each image sensor 202 maycorrespond to an individual image statistics unit 304. In suchembodiments, each statistic module may be programmed by central controlmodule 320 to collect different information for the same or differentimage data.

Vision module 322 performs various operations to facilitate computervision operations at CPU 208 such as facial detection in image data. Thevision module 322 may perform various operations includingpre-processing, global tone-mapping and Gamma correction, vision noisefiltering, resizing, keypoint detection, generation ofhistogram-of-orientation gradients (HOG) and normalized crosscorrelation (NCC). The pre-processing may include subsampling or binningoperation and computation of luminance if the input image data is not inYCrCb format. Global mapping and Gamma correction can be performed onthe pre-processed data on luminance image. Vision noise filtering isperformed to remove pixel defects and reduce noise present in the imagedata, and thereby, improve the quality and performance of subsequentcomputer vision algorithms. Such vision noise filtering may includedetecting and fixing dots or defective pixels, and performing bilateralfiltering to reduce noise by averaging neighbor pixels of similarbrightness. Various vision algorithms use images of different sizes andscales. Resizing of an image is performed, for example, by binning orlinear interpolation operation. Keypoints are locations within an imagethat are surrounded by image patches well suited to matching in otherimages of the same scene or object. Such keypoints are useful in imagealignment, computing camera pose and object tracking. Keypoint detectionrefers to the process of identifying such keypoints in an image. HOGprovides descriptions of image patches for tasks in mage analysis andcomputer vision. HOG can be generated, for example, by (i) computinghorizontal and vertical gradients using a simple difference filter, (ii)computing gradient orientations and magnitudes from the horizontal andvertical gradients, and (iii) binning the gradient orientations. NCC isthe process of computing spatial cross-correlation between a patch ofimage and a kernel.

Back-end interface 342 receives image data from other image sources thanimage sensor 102 and forwards it to other components of ISP 206 forprocessing. For example, image data may be received over a networkconnection and be stored in system memory 230. Back-end interface 342retrieves the image data stored in system memory 230 and provides it toback-end pipeline stages 340 for processing. One of many operations thatare performed by back-end interface 342 is converting the retrievedimage data to a format that can be utilized by back-end processingstages 340. For instance, back-end interface 342 may convert RGB, YCbCr4:2:0, or YCbCr 4:2:2 formatted image data into YCbCr 4:4:4 colorformat.

Back-end pipeline stages 340 processes image data according to aparticular full-color format (e.g., YCbCr 4:4:4 or RGB). In someembodiments, components of the back-end pipeline stages 340 may convertimage data to a particular full-color format before further processing.Back-end pipeline stages 340 may include, among other stages, noiseprocessing stage 310 and color processing stage 312. Back-end pipelinestages 340 may include other stages not illustrated in FIG. 3.

Noise processing stage 310 performs various operations to reduce noisein the image data. The operations performed by noise processing stage310 include, but are not limited to, color space conversion,gamma/de-gamma mapping, temporal filtering, noise filtering, lumasharpening, and chroma noise reduction. The color space conversion mayconvert an image data from one color space format to another color spaceformat (e.g., RGB format converted to YCbCr format). Gamma/de-gammaoperation converts image data from input image data values to outputdata values to perform gamma correction or reverse gamma correction.Temporal filtering filters noise using a previously filtered image frameto reduce noise. For example, pixel values of a prior image frame arecombined with pixel values of a current image frame. Noise filtering mayinclude, for example, spatial noise filtering. Luma sharpening maysharpen luma values of pixel data while chroma suppression may attenuatechroma to gray (e.g., no color). In some embodiment, the luma sharpeningand chroma suppression may be performed simultaneously with spatial nosefiltering. The aggressiveness of noise filtering may be determineddifferently for different regions of an image. Spatial noise filteringmay be included as part of a temporal loop implementing temporalfiltering. For example, a previous image frame may be processed by atemporal filter and a spatial noise filter before being stored as areference frame for a next image frame to be processed. In otherembodiments, spatial noise filtering may not be included as part of thetemporal loop for temporal filtering (e.g., the spatial noise filter maybe applied to an image frame after it is stored as a reference imageframe and thus the reference frame is not spatially filtered.

Color processing stage 312 may perform various operations associatedwith adjusting color information in the image data. The operationsperformed in color processing stage 312 include, but are not limited to,local tone mapping, gain/offset/clip, color correction,three-dimensional color lookup, gamma conversion, and color spaceconversion. Local tone mapping refers to spatially varying local tonecurves in order to provide more control when rendering an image. Forinstance, a two-dimensional grid of tone curves (which may be programmedby the central control module 320) may be bi-linearly interpolated suchthat smoothly varying tone curves are created across an image. In someembodiments, local tone mapping may also apply spatially varying andintensity varying color correction matrices, which may, for example, beused to make skies bluer while turning down blue in the shadows in animage. Digital gain/offset/clip may be provided for each color channelor component of image data. Color correction may apply a colorcorrection transform matrix to image data. 3D color lookup may utilize athree-dimensional array of color component output values (e.g., R, G, B)to perform advanced tone mapping, color space conversions, and othercolor transforms. Gamma conversion may be performed, for example, bymapping input image data values to output data values in order toperform gamma correction, tone mapping, or histogram matching. Colorspace conversion may be implemented to convert image data from one colorspace to another (e.g., RGB to YCbCr). Other processing techniques mayalso be performed as part of color processing stage 312 to perform otherspecial image effects, including black and white conversion, sepia toneconversion, negative conversion, or solarize conversion.

Output rescale module 314 may resample, transform and correct distortionon the fly as the ISP 206 processes image data. Output rescale module314 may compute a fractional input coordinate for each pixel and usesthis fractional coordinate to interpolate an output pixel via apolyphase resampling filter. A fractional input coordinate may beproduced from a variety of possible transforms of an output coordinate,such as resizing or cropping an image (e.g., via a simple horizontal andvertical scaling transform), rotating and shearing an image (e.g., vianon-separable matrix transforms), perspective warping (e.g., via anadditional depth transform) and per-pixel perspective divides applied inpiecewise in strips to account for changes in image sensor during imagedata capture (e.g., due to a rolling shutter), and geometric distortioncorrection (e.g., via computing a radial distance from the opticalcenter in order to index an interpolated radial gain table, and applyinga radial perturbance to a coordinate to account for a radial lensdistortion).

Output rescale module 314 may apply transforms to image data as it isprocessed at output rescale module 314. Output rescale module 314 mayinclude horizontal and vertical scaling components. The vertical portionof the design may implement series of image data line buffers to holdthe “support” needed by the vertical filter. As ISP 206 may be astreaming device, it may be that only the lines of image data in afinite-length sliding window of lines are available for the filter touse. Once a line has been discarded to make room for a new incomingline, the line may be unavailable. Output rescale module 314 maystatistically monitor computed input Y coordinates over previous linesand use it to compute an optimal set of lines to hold in the verticalsupport window. For each subsequent line, output rescale module mayautomatically generate a guess as to the center of the vertical supportwindow. In some embodiments, the output rescale module 314 may implementa table of piecewise perspective transforms encoded as digitaldifference analyzer (DDA) steppers to perform a per-pixel perspectivetransformation between an input image data and output image data inorder to correct artifacts and motion caused by sensor motion during thecapture of the image frame. Output rescale may provide image data viaoutput interface 316 to various other components of device 100, asdiscussed above with regard to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In various embodiments, the functionally of components 302 through 350may be performed in a different order than the order implied by theorder of these functional units in the image processing pipelineillustrated in FIG. 3, or may be performed by different functionalcomponents than those illustrated in FIG. 3. Moreover, the variouscomponents as described in FIG. 3 may be embodied in variouscombinations of hardware, firmware or software.

Chromatic Aberration Recovery

In general, chromatic aberration is caused by the inability of a lens tofocus different wavelengths of light (e.g., different colors of light)to the same point. FIG. 4A illustrates an example of longitudinal (e.g.,axial) chromatic aberration. As shown in FIG. 4A, wide-angle lens 401refracts light 403 such that different wavelengths of light (e.g., redlight, green light, and blue light) are focused at different distancesfrom the wide-angle lens 401 along the optical axis 405. FIG. 4Billustrates lateral (e.g., transverse) chromatic aberration, accordingto one embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4B, the wide-angle lens 401 refractslight 403 such that the different wavelengths (e.g., red light, greenlight, and blue light) are focused at different positions on the focalplane 407. Chromatic aberration due to the usage of the wide-angle lens401 as described with respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B manifests itself ascolor fringing at edges in full color images.

FIG. 5 illustrates raw image data generated using light 403 captured byimage sensor 202 using the wide-angle lens 401 in one embodiment. Asshown in FIG. 5, the raw image data is in a Bayer pattern 501. The Bayerpattern 501 includes alternating rows of red-green pixels and green-bluepixels. Generally, the Bayer pattern 501 includes more green pixels thanred or blue pixels due to the human eye being more sensitive to greenlight than both red light and blue light.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed view of the chromaticaberration recovery (CAR) circuit 307, according to one embodiment. TheCAR circuit 307 receives raw input image data 601 and generatescorrected raw image data 615 by correcting chromatic aberrations. In oneembodiment, the raw input image data 601 is a Bayer pattern that isgenerated by image sensor 202 using a wide-angle lens as described withrespect to FIG. 5. A full-color image generated from the raw input imagedata 601 includes chromatic aberrations due to using the wide-angle lensto generate the raw input image data 601 By using the corrected rawimage data 615 to generate a full-color image rather than the raw inputimage data 601, chromatic aberrations in the full-color image isreduced. While the description herein describes the CAR circuit 307receiving raw input image data 601, in other embodiments the CAR circuit307 may receive RBG image data and generate corrected RBG image data bycorrecting chromatic aberrations in the RGB image data.

In one embodiment, the CAR circuit 307 includes a pixel locater circuit602, an offset look-up table (LUT) 603, an offset interpolator circuit605, a vertical phase LUT 607, a horizontal phase LUT 609, a verticalcorrection circuit 611, and a horizontal correction circuit 613. Inother embodiments, the CAR circuit 307 may have additional or fewercircuits and LUTs than those shown in FIG. 6.

The pixel locater circuit 602 receives the raw input image data 601. Thepixel locator circuit 602 identifies the location of each pixel in theraw input image data 601. The identified location of each pixel in theraw input image data 601 is provided to the offset interpolator circuit605. Based on the Bayer pattern arrangement, the pixel locater circuit602 determines the locations of red and blue pixels for correctingchromatic aberrations.

In one embodiment, offset LUT 603 stores a grid of pre-calculatedhorizontal and vertical offset values. A horizontal offset value and avertical offset value for a certain pixel represent, respectively, ahorizontal distance and a vertical distance to a virtual pixel with apixel value that corresponds to a pixel value of the certain pixel hadthere not been any chromatic aberrations. The grid includes a pluralityof grid points having a plurality of pixel offset values. Thepre-calculated offset values in the grid may be associated with opticalconfigurations of a corresponding image sensor 202 (e.g., use of aspecific wide-angle lens). Thus, the offset LUT 603 may store differentsets of offset values that are each associated with different imagesensors 202. In one or more embodiments, the grid is coarser than thearrangement of pixels of the Bayer pattern 501. A particular pixellocation may be associated with one or more grid points and comprisesfour pixel offset values: a horizontal pixel offset value for the redpixels, a vertical pixel offset value for the red pixels, a horizontaloffset value for the blue pixels, and a vertical offset value for theblue pixels.

The offset interpolator circuit 605 is coupled to the pixel locatorcircuit 602 and receives the identified locations of the pixels from thepixel locator circuit 602. In one embodiment, the offset interpolatorcircuit 605 calculates horizontal and vertical offset values for asubset of pixels (e.g., blue and red pixels) included in the raw inputimage data 601. Specifically, the offset interpolator circuit 605calculates the horizontal and vertical offset values of a blue or redpixel by performing interpolation on pre-calculated horizontal andvertical offset values of grid points surrounding the blue or red pixelas described below with reference to FIG. 8. That is, for each red orblue pixel in the raw input image data 601, the offset interpolatorcircuit 605 calculates a horizontal pixel offset for the red colorchannel of the pixel, a vertical pixel offset value for the red colorchannel of the pixel, a horizontal pixel offset for the blue colorchannel of the pixel, and a vertical pixel offset value for the bluecolor channel of the pixel. Thus, the offset interpolator circuit 605does not calculate horizontal and pixel offsets for the green colorchannel of the pixel. However, in other embodiments, the offsetinterpolator circuit 605 may also calculate a horizontal pixel offsetfor the green color channel of the pixel and a vertical pixel offsetvalue for the green color channel of the pixel. Generally, when thehorizontal and vertical pixel offset values for two color channels arecalculated, the horizontal and vertical pixel offset values for theremaining color channel (RGB) are not calculated.

FIG. 7A illustrates vertical offset pixel correction for a blue colorchannel of pixel 701 included in the raw input image data 601. Due tochromatic aberrations in the vertical direction, the pixel value of bluepixel P2 captured by the image sensor 202 (and representing in the Bayerpattern 501) is inaccurate. Rather, the pixel value of blue pixel P2 isobtained from a virtual pixel 701 vertically offset by a distance 703indicated by an arrow shown in FIG. 7A (assuming that there is nohorizontal shifting of focal point due to chromatic aberrations). Aswill be further described below, the vertical pixel offset 703 indicatedby the arrow is used as a parameter to interpolate the pixel value atvirtual pixel location 701 using pixel values of neighboring blue pixelsP0, P1, P2, and P3 in the vertical direction. The pixel value of thevirtual pixel location 701 then replaces the pixel value of blue pixelP2 as a corrected pixel value. Such replacement of pixel values isperformed for all blue pixels to account for the vertical chromaticaberration. The red color channel of pixels also have their verticaloffset corrected in a similar manner as the blue color channel of pixelsshown in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7B illustrates horizontal pixel offset correction for the bluecolor channel of pixel 701 included in the raw input image data 601. Theblue pixels in FIG. 7B have pixel values corrected using verticaloffsets as explained above with reference to FIG. 7A. As shown in FIG.7B, the pixel value of blue pixel P6 which has the vertical chromaticaberration does not take into account the horizontal chromaticaberration. In order to account for the horizontal chromatic aberration,the pixel value of pixel P6 is replaced with a pixel value of a virtualpixel 711 that is horizontally offset from pixel P6 by a distance 713.As will be further described below, the horizontal pixel offset 713 isused as a parameter to interpolate pixel values of neighboring pixelsP4, P5, P6, and P7 in the horizontal direction. Such replacement isperformed across all blue pixels to correct the horizontal chromaticaberration. The red color channel of pixels also have their horizontaloffset corrected in a similar manner as the blue color channel of pixelsshown in FIG. 7B.

FIG. 8 illustrates grid points GP0 through GP4 that surrounds a givenpixel 801, in one embodiment. As described above, each of grid pointsGP0 through GP4 has an associated vertical and horizontal offset valuesfor red and blue pixels stored in offset LUT 603. If pixel 801 is a redpixel, the offset interpolator circuit 605 performs a bilateralinterpolation on four vertical offset values of the four grid points GP0through GP4 for red pixels and generates an interpolated vertical offsetvalue 615 for the red pixel. The offset interpolator circuit 605 alsoperforms a bilateral interpolation on four horizontal offset values ofthe four grid points GP0 through GP3 for red pixels and generates aninterpolated horizontal offset value 617 for the red pixel. If pixel 801is a blue pixel, the offset interpolator circuit 605 performs abilateral interpolation on four vertical offset values of the four gridpoints GP0 through GP3 for blue pixels and generates an interpolatedvertical offset value 615 for blue red pixel, and performs a bilateralinterpolation on four horizontal offset values of the four grid pointsGP0 through GP3 for blue pixels and generates an interpolated horizontaloffset value 617 for the blue pixel.

Referring back to FIG. 6, the offset interpolator circuit 605 providesthe vertical pixel offset values 615 for the red and blue color channelsof each pixel in the raw input image data 601 to the vertical phase LUT607 and provides the horizontal pixel offset values 617 for the red andblue color channels to the horizontal phase LUT 609. In one embodiment,the vertical phase LUT 607 stores a table of interpolation coefficients(e.g., spline interpolator coefficients) for a plurality of phases inthe vertical direction where each phase has a set of coefficients C0,C1, C2, and C3. Similarly, the horizontal phase LUT 609 stores a tableof interpolation coefficients (e.g., spline interpolation coefficients)for a plurality of phases in the horizontal direction where each phasehas a set of coefficients C0, C1, C2, and C3. Each table of interpolatorcoefficients is pre-computed and is associated with the same wide-anglelens that is associated with the offset LUT 603.

The vertical phase LUT 607 uses the vertical pixel offsets calculatedfor the red and blue color channels for each pixel to define the phaseof bilinear interpolation in the vertical direction. Similarly, thehorizontal phase LUT 609 uses the horizontal offsets calculated for thered and blue color channels for each pixel to define the phase ofbilinear interpolation in the horizontal direction. The phase in each ofthe vertical and horizontal directions functions as an index to itsrespective set of coefficients in the respective phase LUT.

The vertical phase LUT 607 identifies the set of coefficient values thatare associated with the vertical pixel offset values for the red colorchannel and the set of coefficient values that are associated with thevertical pixel offset values for the blue color channels and providesthe identified sets of coefficient values to the vertical correctioncircuit 611. Similarly, the horizontal phase LUT 509 identifies the setof coefficients that are associated with the horizontal pixel offsetvalue for the red color channel and the set of coefficient values thatare associated with the horizontal pixel offset value for the blue colorchannel and provides the identified sets of coefficients to thehorizontal correction circuit 611.

The vertical correction circuit 611 calculates blue and red pixel valueswith chromatic aberrations corrected in the vertical direction relativeto raw input image data 601. No change is made to the green pixelvalues. In one embodiment, the vertical correction circuit 611calculates vertically corrected versions of the red pixel values (P_(v))and the vertically corrected versions of the blue pixel values (P_(v))using spline interpolation. One example of the spline function is asfollows:

P _(v)=½((u ²(2−u)−u))·p _(n−1)+(u ²(3u−5)+2))·p _(n)+(u ²(4−3u)+u))·p_(n+1)+(u ²(u−1)))·p _(n+2)  equation (1)

P _(v) =C ₀ P ₀ +C ₁ P ₁ +C ₂ P ₂ +C ₃ P ₃  equation (2)

where u represents a vertical pixel offset values, P₀ through P₃represent pixel values of four blue or red pixels in the same column andclosest to a virtual pixel corresponding to the blue or red pixel whosevalue is being corrected to account for chromatic aberrations, and C₀through C₃ are the interpolation coefficients. Note that the usage ofthe spline function is just one example for correcting chromaticaberration. In other embodiments, different functions may be used forperforming image sharpening or image smoothing, or any combination ofthereof with chromatic aberration correction.

To calculate the vertically corrected version of a pixel value for a redpixel, the vertical correction circuit 611 obtains the pixel offsetvalues 615 from offset interpolator circuit 605, retrieves a set ofcoefficients C₀, C₁, C₂, and C₃ corresponding to the pixel offset value615 from the vertical phase LUT 607. Using the pixel offset values ofthe pixel's neighbors and the set of coefficients, the verticalcorrection unit 611 calculates the pixel correction value of the redcolor channel for each pixel using equation (2).

To calculate the vertically corrected version of a pixel value for ablue color, the vertical correction circuit 611 obtains the pixel offsetvalues 615 from offset interpolator circuit 605, retrieves a set ofcoefficients C₀, C₁, C₂, and C₃ corresponding to the pixel offset value615 from the vertical phase LUT 607. Using the pixel offset values ofthe pixel's neighbors and the set of coefficients, the verticalcorrection unit 611 calculates the pixel correction value of the bluecolor channel for each pixel using equation (2).

The horizontal correction circuit 613 calculates blue and red pixelvalues with chromatic aberrations corrected in the horizontal directionrelative to raw input image data 601. No change is made to the greenpixel values. In one embodiment, the horizontal correction circuit 613calculates horizontally correction versions of the red pixel values(P_(h)) and vertically correction versions of the blue pixel values(P_(h)) using spline interpolation. One example of the spline functionis as follows:

P _(h)=½((v ²(2−v)−v))·p _(n−1)+(v ²(3v−5)+2))·p _(n)+(v ²(4−3v)+v))·p_(n+1)+(v ²(v−1)))·p _(n+2)  equation (3)

P _(y) =C ₄ P ₄ +C ₅ P ₅ +C ₆ P ₆ +C ₇ P ₇  equation (4)

where v represents a horizontal pixel offset value, P₄ through P₇represent pixel values of four blue or red pixels in the same column andclosest to a virtual pixel corresponding to the blue or red pixel whosevalue is being corrected to account for chromatic aberrations, and C₄through C₇ are the interpolation coefficients.

To calculate the horizontally corrected version of a pixel value for ared pixel, the horizontal correction circuit 613 obtains the pixeloffset values 617 from offset interpolator circuit 605, retrieves a setof coefficients C₄, C₅, C₆, and C₇ corresponding to the pixel offsetvalue 617 from the horizontal phase LUT 609. Using the pixel offsetvalues of the pixel's neighbors and the set of coefficients, thehorizontal correction unit 613 calculates the pixel correction value ofthe red color channel for each pixel using equation 4.

To calculate the horizontally corrected version of a pixel value for ablue pixel, the horizontal correction circuit 613 obtains the pixeloffset values 617 from offset interpolator circuit 605, retrieves a setof coefficients C₄, C₅, C₆, and C₇ corresponding to the pixel offsetvalue 617 from the horizontal phase LUT 609. Using the pixel offsetvalues of the pixel's neighbors and the set of coefficients, thehorizontal correction unit 613 calculates the pixel correction value ofthe blue color channel for each pixel using equation 4.

The horizontal and vertical pixel correction values for the blue colorchannel and the horizontal and vertical pixel correction values for thered color channel of each pixel from the raw input image data 601represent the corrected raw image data 615 shown in FIG. 6. Thecorrected raw image data 615 can be used by the image signal processor206 to generate a full-color image with reduced chromatic aberrations.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of performing chromaticaberration recovery to reduce color fringing of raw image data,according to one embodiment. The steps of the method may be performed indifferent orders, and the method may include different, additional, orfewer steps.

In one embodiment, CAR circuit 307 receives 901 pixel values of pixelsof a color in raw input image data. The color may be red or blue, butnot green. The CAR circuit 307 generates 903 first corrected version ofthe pixel values. In one embodiment, the CAR circuit 307 generates thefirst correction version of the pixel values by performing interpolationof pixel values of a first subset of pixels of the color arranged in afirst direction of the raw image input data where the first direction isthe vertical direction. The interpolation may be performed using one ormore of first interpolation coefficients that correspond to first offsetvalues representing first distances from the pixels to correspondingvirtual pixels in the first direction where the virtual pixels havepixel values that are identical to pixel values of the pixels in the rawimage absent lateral chromatic aberrations.

The CAR circuit 307 generates second corrected versions of the pixelvalues by performing interpolation of the first corrected versions ofthe pixel values of second subset of pixels of the color arranged in asecond direction perpendicular where the second direction is thehorizontal direction. The interpolation may be performed using one ormore of second interpolation coefficients that correspond to secondoffset values that represent second distances from the pixels in the rawimage input data to the corresponding virtual pixels in the seconddirection. The second corrected versions of the pixel values are part ofa corrected raw image data.

While particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated anddescribed, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited tothe precise construction and components disclosed herein and thatvarious modifications, changes and variations which will be apparent tothose skilled in the art may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

1. An image processor comprising: a correction circuit configured toreceive pixel values of pixels of a color in a raw input image data, andgenerate corrected versions of the pixel values by performinginterpolation of subsets of the pixels of the color in a plurality ofdirections using a plurality of different sets of interpolationcoefficients, each set of interpolation coefficients associated with acorresponding direction from the plurality of directions, and each setof interpolation coefficients including offset values representingdistances from the pixels to corresponding virtual pixels in thecorresponding direction where the virtual pixels have pixel values thatare identical to the pixel values of the pixels in the raw image absentlateral chromatic aberrations, wherein the corrected versions of thepixel values are included as part of a corrected raw image data; andmemory coupled to the correction circuit, the memory configured to storeone or more lookup tables that include the plurality of different setsof interpolation coefficients.
 2. The image processor of claim 1,wherein the correction circuit comprises: a first correction circuitconfigured to: perform interpolation of pixel values of a first subsetof pixels of the color arranged in a first direction from the pluralityof directions using one or more first interpolation coefficientsincluded in a first set of interpolation coefficients from the pluralityof different sets of interpolation coefficients to generate firstcorrected versions of the pixel values, the one or more firstinterpolation coefficients corresponding to first offset valuesrepresenting first distances from the pixels to corresponding virtualpixels in the first direction; and a second correction circuitconfigured to: receive the first corrected versions; and generate secondcorrected versions of the pixel values by performing interpolation ofthe first corrected versions of the pixel values of second subset ofpixels of the color arranged in a second direction from the plurality ofdirections using one or more second interpolation coefficients includedin a second set of interpolation coefficients from the plurality ofdifferent sets of interpolation coefficients, the one or more secondinterpolation coefficients corresponding to second offset valuesrepresenting second distances from the pixels in the raw image inputdata to the corresponding virtual pixels in the second direction.
 3. Theimage processor of claim 2, wherein the corrected versions of the pixelvalues that are included as part of the corrected raw image data includethe second corrected versions of the pixel values.
 4. The imageprocessor of claim 2, further comprising: an offset interpolator circuitconfigured to determine the first offset values and the second offsetvalues of the pixels in the raw image input data by bilateralinterpolating predetermined first offset values and predetermined secondoffset values associated with grid points neighboring the pixels in theraw input image data.
 5. The image processor of claim 4, wherein the oneor more lookup tables include: a first phase look-up table configured tostore the first set of interpolation coefficients indexed by the firstdistances or first parameters derived from the first distances; a secondphase look-up table configured to store the second set of interpolationcoefficients indexed by the second distances or second parametersderived from the second distances; and an offset look-up tableconfigured to store the predetermined first offset values and thepredetermined second offset values associated with the grid points. 6.The image processor of claim 1, wherein the raw input image data and thecorrected raw image data is in a Bayer pattern.
 7. The image processorof claim 2, wherein the first direction is a vertical direction and thesecond direction is a horizontal direction.
 8. The image processor ofclaim 7, wherein a first corrected version of a pixel value for a pixelin the raw input image data is generated by interpolating pixel valuesfor a number of pixels in a same column as the pixel, and a secondcorrected version of the pixel value for the pixel is generated byinterpolating first corrected versions of pixel values for the samenumber of pixels in a same row as the pixel.
 9. The image processor ofclaim 1, wherein the received pixel values include pixel values ofpixels in colors of red, green, and blue, and wherein the pixel valuesof pixels of two of the colors are updated by the correction circuit,and pixel values of pixels of a remaining one of the colors is notupdated by the correction circuit.
 10. The image processor of claim 1,wherein the color is blue or red, and wherein pixel values of greenpixels are not updated by the correction circuit.
 11. The imageprocessor of claim 2, wherein the interpolation performed by the firstcorrection circuit uses a first function defined by the one or morefirst interpolation coefficients, and the second correction circuit usesa second function defined by the one or more second interpolationcoefficients.
 12. A method comprising: receiving pixel values of pixelsof a color in a raw input image data; and generating corrected versionsof the pixel values by performing interpolation of subsets of the pixelsof the color in a plurality of directions using a plurality of differentsets of interpolation coefficients, each set of interpolationcoefficients associated with a corresponding direction from theplurality of directions, and each set of interpolation coefficientsincluding offset values representing distances from the pixels tocorresponding virtual pixels in the corresponding direction where thevirtual pixels have pixel values that are identical to the pixel valuesof the pixels in the raw image absent lateral chromatic aberrations,wherein the corrected versions of the pixel values are included as partof a corrected raw image data
 13. The method of claim 12, whereingenerating the corrected versions of the pixel values comprises:performing interpolation of pixel values of a first subset of pixels ofthe color arranged in a first direction from the plurality of directionsusing one or more first interpolation coefficients included in a firstset of interpolation coefficients from the plurality of different setsof interpolation coefficients to generate first corrected versions ofthe pixel values, the one or more first interpolation coefficientscorresponding to first offset values representing first distances fromthe pixels to corresponding virtual pixels in the first direction; andgenerating second corrected versions of the pixel values by performinginterpolation of the first corrected versions of the pixel values ofsecond subset of pixels of the color arranged in a second direction fromthe plurality of directions using one or more second interpolationcoefficients included in a second set of interpolation coefficients fromthe plurality of different sets of interpolation coefficients, the oneor more second interpolation coefficients corresponding to second offsetvalues representing second distances from the pixels in the raw imageinput data to the corresponding virtual pixels in the second direction.14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining the firstoffset values and the second offset values of the pixels in the rawimage input data by bilateral interpolating predetermined first offsetvalues and predetermined second offset values associated with gridpoints neighboring the pixels in the raw input image data.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising: storing, in an offset look-uptable, the predetermined first offset values and the predeterminedsecond offset values associated with the grid points; storing, in afirst phase look-up table, the first set of interpolation coefficientsindexed by the first distances or first parameters derived from thefirst distances; and storing, in a second phase look-up table, thesecond set of interpolation coefficients indexed by the second distancesor second parameters derived from the second distances.
 16. The methodof claim 12, wherein the raw input image data and the corrected rawimage data is in a Bayer pattern.
 17. The method of claim 13, whereinthe first direction is a vertical direction and the second direction isa horizontal direction.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein a firstcorrected version of a pixel value for a pixel in the raw input imagedata is generated by interpolating pixel values for a number of pixelsin a same column as the pixel, and a second corrected version of thepixel value for the pixel is generated by interpolating first correctedversions of pixel values for the same number of pixels in a same row asthe pixel.
 19. The method of claim 12, wherein the received pixel valuescomprise pixel values of pixels in colors of red, green, and blue, andwherein the pixel values of pixels of two of the colors are updated andpixel values of pixels of a remaining one of the colors is not updated.20. A system comprising: an image sensor comprising configured tocapture an image data; an image processor comprising: a correctioncircuit configured to receive pixel values of pixels of a color in a rawinput image data, and generate corrected versions of the pixel values byperforming interpolation of subsets of the pixels of the color in aplurality of directions using a plurality of different sets ofinterpolation coefficients, each set of interpolation coefficientsassociated with a corresponding direction from the plurality ofdirections, and each set of interpolation coefficients including offsetvalues representing distances from the pixels to corresponding virtualpixels in the corresponding direction where the virtual pixels havepixel values that are identical to the pixel values of the pixels in theraw image absent lateral chromatic aberrations, wherein the correctedversions of the pixel values are included as part of a corrected rawimage data; and memory coupled to the correction circuit, the memoryconfigured to store one or more lookup tables that include the pluralityof different sets of interpolation coefficients.